Degradation of marine ecosystems and decline of fishery resources in marine protected areas in the US Virgin Islands

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 312-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline S. Rogers ◽  
Jim Beets
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
National Park ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Fishery Resources ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Intensive Fishing

The large number of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Caribbean (over 100) gives a misleading impression of the amount of protection the reefs and other marine resources in this region are receiving. This review synthesizes information on marine resources in two of the first MPAs established in the USA, namely Virgin Islands National Park (1962) and Buck Island Reef National Monument (1961), and provides compelling evidence that greater protection is needed, based on data from some of the longest running research projects on coral reefs, reef fish assemblages, and seagrass beds for the Caribbean. Most of the stresses affecting marine resources throughout the Caribbean (e.g. damage from boats, hurricanes and coral diseases) are also causing deterioration in these MPAs. Living coral cover has decreased and macroalgal cover has increased. Seagrass densities have decreased because of storms and anchor damage. Intensive fishing in the US Virgin Islands has caused loss of spawning aggregations and decreases in mean fish size and abundance. Groupers and snappers are far less abundant and herbivorous fishes comprise a greater proportion of samples than in the 1960s. Effects of intensive fishing are evident even within MPA boundaries. Although only traditional fishing with traps of ‘conventional design’ is allowed, commercial trap fishing is occurring. Visual samples of fishes inside and outside Virgin Islands National Park showed no significant differences in number of species, biomass, or mean size of fishes. Similarly, the number of fishes per trap was statistically similar inside and outside park waters. These MPAs have not been effective because an unprecedented combination of natural and human factors is assaulting the resources, some of the greatest damage is from stresses outside the control of park managers (e.g. hurricanes), and enforcement of the few regulations has been limited. Fully functioning MPAs which prohibit fishing and other extractive uses (e.g. no-take marine reserves) could reverse some of the degradation, allowing replenishment of the fishery resources and recovery of benthic habitats.

The centipede genus Newportia Gervais, 1847, in Mexico: description of a new troglomorphic species; redescription of N. sabina Chamberlin, 1942; revival of N. azteca Humbert & Saussure, 1869; and a summary of the fauna (Scolopendromorpha: Scolopocryptopidae: Newportiinae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 379 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
AMAZONAS C. JUNIOR ◽  
ROWLAND M. SHELLEY
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
British Virgin Islands ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Us ◽  
New Localities ◽  
The Caribbean

In Mexico, the newportiine scolopocryptopid genus Newportia Gervais, 1847, comprises 10 species: N. mexicana (Saussure, 1858); N. azteca Humbert & Saussure, 1869; N. stolli (Pocock, 1896); N. spinipes Pocock, 1896; N. oreina Chamberlin, 1915; N. sabina and pelaezi, both by Chamberlin, 1942; N. atoyaca and morela, both by Chamberlin, 1943, and N. troglobia, n. sp. The last occurs in caves in Tamaulipas and appears to be an obligate troglobite; N. sabina, known only from caves in San Luis Potosi, is redescribed and illustrated. Newportia azteca is revived and returned to its rightful position as the third oldest name in the genus; despite having priority by 27 years, it had been considered to be “the same” as N. spinipes and dropped from nomenclature. Although Newportia and the Newportiinae are not known from the continental United States, they do inhabit the country’s territories in the Caribbean; N. heteropoda Chamberlin, 1918, is reported from Puerto Rico, and N. longitarsis virginiensis Lewis, 1989, is recorded from St. Thomas and St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, and Tortola and Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands. The northernmost Mexican record, of N. pelaezi in Nuevo León, is only 96 mi (154 km) south of the US border, suggesting that the taxa may potentially be discovered in the southern periphery of Texas; likewise, rafting from Cuba, where 4–5 species occur, could bring them to the Florida Keys. New localities from Mexico are presented for N. stolli, N. spinipes, N. oreina, N. atoyaca, and N. morela, and ranges are depicted on a distribution map.

scholarly journals A Postcolonial Dilemma Tale from the Harbour of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands

Itinerario ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (02) ◽  
pp. 348-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalia Brichet
Keyword(s):  
West Indian ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Indian Company ◽  
The Us ◽  
Colonial Legacies ◽  
The Caribbean

AbstractThe port of Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas has long been a vibrant centre for ship trafficking in the Caribbean, as it was during Danish colonial rule starting in 1672. In 1917, Denmark officially sold and left what became the US Virgin Islands. Not everybody left, though. The Danish-owned West Indian Company, which owned the majority of the St. Thomas port and its attendant facilities, stayed until 1993. At that point the harbour was sold to the Virgin Islanders, who for some time had complained about the fact that a Danish company still profited from the islands. The harbour of Charlotte Amalie, which is my central analytical unit here, thus provides a lens through which to approach Danish colonial imprints.The harbour is and has been characterised by activities of a temporary and opportunistic kind: industries blossom, people and crops from far away get uprooted and replanted in the Caribbean, businesses provide work for locals, goods are shipped out to be consumed in other places. The transitory nature of projects designed by people elsewhere, I argue, is part of what colonialism is. As I will show, the traces of such projects appear not only as particular ecologies but also as dilemmas to be grappled with long after the foreign decision-makers have left. My approach to colonial legacies on the Virgin Islands, then, mobilises the shifting flows of people, commodities, and interests shipped in and out of Charlotte Amalie to leave behind altered landscapes that are continuously debated.

Digital Resources: Study of Danish Activities in the Caribbean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunvor Simonsen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
West Indies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Danish West Indies

From the 1670s to 1917, Denmark (until 1814 Denmark–Norway) maintained colonies in the eastern Caribbean. The island of St. Thomas was colonized in 1672, St. John in 1718, and St. Croix was bought from the French in 1733. Racial slavery soon came to dominate the Danish islands and was only abolished in 1848. Most people arrived to the islands as captive Africans, while most Europeans were of either Dutch or British origin. In 1917, the islands, constituting the Danish West Indies, were sold to the United States of America and became the US Virgin Islands. As part of the centennial of 2017, commemorating the transfer of the Virgin Islands to the United States of America, major Danish cultural institutions, such as the National Archives, the Royal Library, and the National Museum, digitized large collections concerning Danish activities and Danish rule in the Caribbean, including the archive of the Danish West India and Guinea Company, the archives of local government agencies in the Caribbean, large collections of photos, drawings, and maps, as well as a significant part of the written works concerning the Danish West Indies published prior to 1917. In combination with older digital platforms, new online resources facilitate the triangulation of many different kinds of evidence, which in turn promises to generate fascinating new histories of the people who lived in the US Virgin Islands while they were under Danish rule.

The Water Island Archaeological Project: archaeology and history in the eastern Caribbean

Antiquity ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (289) ◽  
pp. 513-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Anderson ◽  
R. Steven Kidd ◽  
Emily M. Yates
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
National Park ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Salt Ponds ◽  
World War ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Park Service

In 1998 extensive investigations were undertaken on Water Island, US Virgin Islands, by a research team from the Southeast Archeological Center, National Park Service. The US government is relinquishing ownership of the island, an action that would affect cultural resources. Earlier surveys had located a number of sites, including the remains of three 18th- and l9th-century plantations, historic wells, prehistoric shell middens and an extensive World War II fortification complex (Wild & Anderson 1992; Knight 2001; Anderson et al. in preparation).Water Island, located off St Thomas, encompasses about one square mile, and is characterized by steep rocky slopes, a pronounced central ridgeline and a highly indented coastline with numerous bays and beaches (FIGURE 1). Fresh water comes from rainfall, and in small brackish ponds. Vegetation ranges from dry tropical thorn scrub to mangrove/salt ponds.

scholarly journals Ocular Findings and Visual Function in Children Examined during the Zika Health Brigade in the US Virgin Islands, March 2018

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
S. Grace Prakalapakorn ◽  
Lucas Bonafede ◽  
Linda Lawrence ◽  
Daniel Lattin ◽  
Nicola Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Function ◽  
Retrospective Chart Review ◽  
The United States ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Neurologic Examination ◽  
Zikv Infection ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Ocular Findings ◽  
Ocular Structure ◽  
The Us

Among children born with laboratory-confirmed Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, visual impairment (VI) can occur despite normal ocular structure. The objective of this report is to describe ocular findings and visual function among children examined during the Department of Health Zika Health Brigade (ZHB) in the United States Virgin Islands in March 2018. This analysis is based on a retrospective chart review of children eligible to participate in the ZHB (i.e., part of the US Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry) and who were examined by ophthalmologists. Eighty-eight children attended the ZHB. This report includes 81 children [48 (59.3%) males] whose charts were located [average gestational age = 37.6 weeks (range: 27.6–41.3) and average adjusted age at examination = 9.1 months (range: 0.9–21.9)]. Of those examined, 5/81 (6.2%) had microcephaly at birth, 2/81 (2.5%) had a structural eye abnormality, and 19/72 (26.4%) had VI. Among children with normal ocular structure and neurologic examination, 13/51 (25.5%) had VI. Despite a low incidence of abnormal ocular structure and microcephaly, about a quarter of children examined had VI. Our findings emphasize that ophthalmological examinations should be performed in all children with suspicion for antenatal ZIKV infection, even children with normal ocular structure and neurologic examination.

scholarly journals No Limits of Acceptable Change: A Proposed Research Framework for Informing Visitor Use Management in the Context of Cultural Resources

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 377
Author(s):  
Zachary D. Miller ◽  
Wayne Freimund ◽  
Stefani A. Crabtree ◽  
Ethan P. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
National Park ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Cultural Resource ◽  
Limits Of Acceptable Change ◽  
The Us ◽  
Visitor Use ◽  
Material Evidence

Cultural resources are commonly defined as resources that provide material evidence of past human activities. These resources are unique, as they are both finite and non-renewable. This provides a challenge for traditional visitor use management since these resources have no limits of acceptable change. However, with nearly every national park in the US containing cultural resources, coupled with ever-growing visitation, it is essential that managers of parks and protected areas have the ability to make science-informed decisions about cultural resources in the context of visitor use management. We propose a framework that can help provide context and exploration for these challenges. Drawing on previous literature, this framework includes risk-based approaches to decision making about visitor use; visitor cognitions related to cultural resources; emotions, mood, and affect related to cultural resource experiences; creating and evaluating interpretive programs; deviant visitor behaviors related to cultural resources; and co-management.

Current Status of Marine Protected Areas in Latin America and the Caribbean

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1630-1640 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. PAULINA GUARDERAS ◽  
SALLY D. HACKER ◽  
JANE LUBCHENCO
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Current Status ◽  
The Caribbean
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document